Monica McCormick
Emily Reyes grew up in a chaotic, stressful home—one of ten siblings, with parents who struggled with addiction. Food became her therapy. By the time she was at her heaviest, nothing was fitting and she felt completely lost.
What pulled her out wasn't a program or a coach, it was a decision she made on her own, and a camera she pointed at herself. She started documenting her journey and lost 62 pounds. Then she had 14,000 followers. Then almost 300,000. Moms started writing to her saying she'd helped them lose 50, 70 pounds. She became, without planning it, exactly the kind of person she'd needed when she was struggling.
Building a business to match that mission took longer. As a NASM-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, Emily tried platform after platform looking for something that felt right—something affordable, something customizable, something that didn't make her feel like she was just a number on someone else's revenue report.
She found Movement through a ChatGPT search at the end of a very long road. And she hasn't stopped building since.
Tell us about Buff Butterfly and who you built it for.
A huge part of my community is moms. When I started one-on-one coaching, I noticed there were so many women who wanted to join but simply couldn’t afford it. I also had women who DID join, loved coaching, had an amazing experience, and then a few months would go by and life would happen.
Bills add up. Things happen with our kids. Life gets expensive.
Then it becomes, “Do I keep paying for coaching, or do I put more of that money toward my bills?”
As a mom, I understand that because I’ve been there too. There was a point where I was struggling financially, and to this day I’ve never even hired a coach myself. So I always KNEW I wanted to create something affordable for my community. I just didn’t know where to start.
That’s a huge reason why Buff Butterfly is only $9.99 month but just because it’s affordable , I NEVER wanted it to feel like a “you get what you pay for” type of app.
I wanted it to feel luxurious. I wanted women to open it and think, “Wait, I get ALL of this for $9.99?”
I’m teaching them about nutrition, showing them how to track their calories, giving them complete workout programs, exercise alternatives, recipes, education, and even boxing circuits inspired by my family’s boxing gym.
I wanted it to be everything I wish I had when I first started my journey and didn’t have money to invest into something expensive. I was just a hardworking mom who owned a beauty business, some days were busy for me and some days were slow so I felt like I needed to put my finances towards bills and my saving just incase when the slow seasons hit.
"I had so many people that wanted to work with me but couldn't financially. I need to create something affordable for my community."
What were you using before Movement, and what wasn't working?
I've worked with different platforms that were more one-on-one coaching based like Avida, (which used to be called System 2) and Lenus. Nothing against those platforms at all, because I learned so much from being on them. But I eventually realized that even though it was technically "my business," it never truly FELT like my own business because I am running on their time, terms, etc.
I also got burnt out from the pressure I personally felt around constantly scaling and growing fast. It just wasn't me. I wanted to build something at my own pace and see where it went!
I left my job to create this app, which is honestly scary. I most likely will eventually go back to one-on-one coaching and have Buff Butterfly as the affordable option for people who can't afford coaching, but for now, I just want to see where this takes me.
And honestly, I've had SO much fun building it.
I also tried Solin, and genuinely loved my experience with Solin. What I realized, though, was that I didn't want my app to have that "challenge" feeling.
Every time you start a new challenge, you have a new community going through that challenge together. And what I've noticed with a lot of moms is that time is NOT always in our favor.
Sometimes you miss a week. Your kid gets sick. Work gets crazy. Life happens.
And once you feel like everyone else is ahead of you during a challenge, it's really easy to feel like you're behind and eventually just give up.
I didn't want that.
I wanted Buff Butterfly to feel like their safe space. Go slow. Go fast. Take a break. Come back. Start over. It's YOUR journey. There's no feeling of having to keep up with everybody else.
"With some of my previous experiences, I felt a lot of pressure around scaling, and I realized I wanted something that allowed me to build at my own pace and focus on the community I was creating."
How did you find Movement?
Honestly, Google and ChatGPT.
I spent HOURS on Google trying to figure out how I could bring this idea to life.
At one point, I got on a call with someone about building a completely custom app and was quoted anywhere from $250,000 to $1 million. I had NO IDEA an actual custom app could cost that much money.
I literally started crying on the phone with this poor stranger I had just met. I was so embarrassed, but I couldn't control it. I felt so defeated because I knew I did not have that kind of money. Especially leaving my jobs and doing side hustles on the side that kept me afloat.
So eventually I got desperate and asked ChatGPT to give me platforms where I could create something that felt like a REAL app.
That's what brought me to Movement, along with Passion.io and a few other platforms.
And I'll be honest, the first time I looked at Movement, I got overwhelmed. I didn't choose it. I ended up going with Solin.
But I genuinely believe everything happens for a reason.
I had a good experience with Solin, but I eventually realized I wanted something that felt even (more) like ME, (that) looks (like) my own styled app, instead of feeling like I was building inside somebody else's.
So I came back to Movement, sat on my desk, got my laptop and said "I'm gonna learn this sh*t," and I'm SO happy I did! It was confusing at first but once you get the hang of it, it's SO easy to build around with.
"I kept asking ChatGPT: give me an app that gives off like a real app. And then it brought me to Movement."
What made you choose Movement specifically?
Before coming back to Movement, I was actually considering another platform. I got on a meeting with them, and a lot of the conversation was about why their platform was better than Movement and how much money I could make using their platform. And I remember leaving that conversation thinking about how often I hear the same thing.
"How much money you can make. How fast you can scale. How big you can grow."
And obviously, we all own businesses. We NEED to make money. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting your business to be successful.
But what about what we can BUILD for our communities? What about the people who are actually going to open these apps every day? What can we create that genuinely helps them?
That's what felt different when I came back to Movement.
I wasn't being sold on how much money I was supposedly going to make.
You guys were excited about what I was BUILDING.
You talked about my app. My ideas. My community. And I could genuinely feel how much you guys love what you've created with Movement.
A lot of platforms tell you similar things about how much money you will make. But then you talk to Movement and the conversation feels different. They genuinely talk about what you can BUILD.
Another thing that has really stood out to me is the support. If you have a question or if you're stuck on something, you write them. And they respond SO fast.
It feels like they are actual people behind Movement who care about what all of us are creating.
"That's what felt different when I came back to Movement. You guys were excited about what I was BUILDING… they are actual people behind Movement who care about what all of us are creating."
What are you able to do now that you couldn't do before?
Everything just feels so customizable. I put my gym education section, nutrition topics — I wanted it to be like a one-stop shop and I've always always wanted to do that.
One of the things I love most is that once someone joins Buff Butterfly, it's THERE for them. They can go as slow or as fast as they want. It doesn't feel pressuring. They're also not stressing every month about choosing between an expensive coaching payment and putting that money toward their bills.
And I'll be honest, I've had women in coaching who started struggling financially and then felt guilty and ghosted me because they couldn't afford the program anymore.
I NEVER want someone to feel embarrassed about that. Life happens. Bills happen. Kids happen.
That's why having something at $9.99/month was so important to me. I want women to have somewhere they can keep learning and working on themselves.
One thing I love about the workout format is the loop—but then if you swipe, you can see the more detailed version. So some of them just want to see me work out, and some of them want to see the details. That has been like—oh my god—that's going to make so many moms happy. And not even my one-on-one coaching apps had that.
I also built out an active rest day section—because what I've noticed is that if you automatically add cardio or an abs circuit to someone's plan, majority of the time they either don't do it or they feel guilty if they don't. So I wanted it to be an option they choose. I included boxing-style circuits in there too—my family owns a boxing gym, so there's a whole boxing section with circuits they can pick from when they feel like it.
I also love the swap alternatives—if someone can't perform a squat, they can swap it out. And I love that they can track their weights, because progressive overload is key and the fact that they get to keep track of what they used the week before is huge.
Honestly, I'm so mad I didn't find Movement three years ago.
"Honestly, I'm so mad I didn't find Movement three years ago."
What would you tell another coach or creator considering Movement?
Honestly, anybody could use this platform. It's so versatile it's not even funny. I was looking at it thinking—even myself (I was a makeup artist), I could come out with a makeup course. A therapist who wants to help people mentally could come out with a podcast. Just so many things you can do here.
"Honestly, anybody could use the Movement platform. It's so versatile it's not even funny."
Emily Reyes didn't set out to build a fitness app. She set out to lose weight, document it honestly, and see what happened. What happened was 290,000 people watching, moms losing 50 and 70 pounds, and a community that needed something more sustainable than a high-ticket coaching program with a clock running against them.
After a decade in the beauty industry, years of burnout on coaching platforms, and one call where she cried being quoted a quarter of a million dollars to build something custom—she found Movement, and built Buff Butterfly herself.
A fitness and nutrition membership for moms, at a low monthly fee, with no pressure and no guilt. For any creator who’s feeling burnt out and wants to build an app that truly feels like their own, her story is a good place to start. Check out Buff Butterfly and find Emily on Instagram to see what she's building.
⋯
Ready to build a fitness and wellness app your community can afford, and actually wants to use?
Whether you're a NASM-certified trainer, nutrition coach, or fitness creator juggling expensive one-on-one coaching platforms that put pressure on you and your clients, Movement gives you a single branded app for everything (workouts, nutrition education, recipes, community, and progress tracking in one place), with the flexibility to build it exactly the way you've always envisioned it. No fast-scaling pressure. No platform telling you how to run your business. Just your content, your community, and your brand all in one place.
Build something your members come back to every day—not because they have to, but because it genuinely fits their life.
What is Movement?
Movement is an all-in-one platform that helps coaches, creators, and community builders launch beautifully branded apps and memberships—without needing to be technical or piece together multiple tools.
Whether you're offering courses, events or programs, selling digital products, or hosting a private community, Movement gives you everything you need in one place: content and video hosting, chats, events, directories, and more.
It’s designed to be intuitive for you and seamless for your audience—so you can focus on delivering value, not managing tech.
For coaches who are tired of stitching together tools like Kajabi, Squarespace, and Facebook Groups, Movement offers a simpler, more scalable way to grow your business and deepen client connection—all under your own brand.
Find out more or sign up for a free account here.
Back to all customer stories